US Special Envoy: Sudan Talks in Geneva to Move Forward This Week

Sudan – US Special Envoy Tom Perriello confirmed on Monday that talks to end the 16-month war in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces will move forward in Geneva this week.

It is not yet clear whether a delegation from the Sudanese army or government will join the talks.

The Sudanese army has almost completely rejected the invitation, while the Rapid Support Forces continue their attacks in parts of the country despite welcoming the initiative presented by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Failure to end the war could exacerbate a conflict that has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, forced 10 million people to flee their homes and created famine-like conditions across the country.

“We will move forward with this this week. This has been made clear to both parties,” Perriello said in Geneva, where talks are due to begin on Wednesday.

In a recorded speech on Monday, Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo confirmed his forces’ participation in the talks while also announcing a new force to protect civilians.

He said, “The country is going through a state of collapse as a result of this war, and the great security vacuum and chaos it has caused, which is a state that always accompanies wars,” adding that his forces are exhausted from fighting what he called “criminal outlaws.”

Witnesses told Reuters that the Rapid Support Forces were struggling to control unruly fighters it had recruited for its advance through the centre of the country, putting in doubt its ability to comply with the ceasefire.

In recent days, the Rapid Support Forces have continued their offensive in Omdurman, near the capital, killing children in a designated “safe place,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and attacking a maternity hospital, according to the government.

It also killed or wounded at least 40 people during dawn prayers in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, where fighting has intensified over the past week, according to local activists, as the Rapid Support Forces seek to consolidate their control over the west of the country.

“How serious they are about negotiating a deal and complying is a question we and the Sudanese people want to get an answer to,” Perriello said on Monday.

Reuters